Find the top rated trails in Charleston, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
The Collett Park Pathway begins on the northern edge of the Indiana State University campus, where it connects to the National Road Heritage Trail, a proposed border-to-border route stretching between...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
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The Terre Haute segment of the National Road Heritage Trail runs for nearly 7 miles between the west end of Indiana State University campus downtown and Chamberlain Road behind Mewhinney Cemetery just...
The unique Indiana Veterans Memorial Mile circles Indiana State University's football stadium in the shape of the state. Along the way, fitness stations add to your walking or biking routine. At...
The first portion of the TREC (Trail Recreation Effingham County) system, totaling approximately 3 miles, is complete, although eventually 30 miles of county-wide bicycling and walking trails will be...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
Although less than 1 mile long, the Dobbs Trail offers an important connection between two of Terre Haute's most popular parks, Deming and Dobbs. It follows Poplar Drive, a tree-lined residential...
The Rosedale South Trail offers a paved, tree-lined route along the former Pennsy Railroad in the western Indiana community of Rosedale. It begins on the south side of town and travels just over a...
The Hulman Street Trail follows its namesake roadway through residential and commercial areas of Terre Haute, passing Farrington Grove Elementary School along the way. At its western end, the trail...
The Brown Boulevard Trail offers students from Terre Haute North Vigo High School a safe route to the Indiana State University Stadium to catch a game. The 2-mile trail also connects to the National...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
Although less than 1 mile long, there are plenty of reasons to hit the Fairbanks Park Trail in western Indiana's Terre Haute. The tree-lined pathway winds along the banks of the Wabash River through...
The Lincoln Prairie Trail runs between County Road 12 at State Route 29 west of Pana and Paw Paw Street in Taylorville. The trail parallels SR 29 for nearly the entire route. Built upon an abandoned...
The Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail runs 12 miles, much of the way along an old railroad right-of-way between County Highway 2 east of Charleston and the ball fields at 10th Street in Mattoon; an...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
The backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
For just over a mile, the Sangamon River Trail in western Monticello follows the former route of the Illinois Central Railroad, which carried passengers from Chicago to New Orleans. The trail includes...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
The Lincoln Prairie Trail runs between County Road 12 at State Route 29 west of Pana and Paw Paw Street in Taylorville. The trail parallels SR 29 for nearly the entire route. Built upon an abandoned...
The Collett Park Pathway begins on the northern edge of the Indiana State University campus, where it connects to the National Road Heritage Trail, a proposed border-to-border route stretching between...
Although less than 1 mile long, there are plenty of reasons to hit the Fairbanks Park Trail in western Indiana's Terre Haute. The tree-lined pathway winds along the banks of the Wabash River through...
Although less than 1 mile long, the Dobbs Trail offers an important connection between two of Terre Haute's most popular parks, Deming and Dobbs. It follows Poplar Drive, a tree-lined residential...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
The backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
The Mahomet Village Bike Trail offers a paved route paralleling East Oak Street/Route 150 on Mahomet's east side. The pathway begins at South East Street, just a block from Sangamon Elementary School,...
The Brown Boulevard Trail offers students from Terre Haute North Vigo High School a safe route to the Indiana State University Stadium to catch a game. The 2-mile trail also connects to the National...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
The Terre Haute segment of the National Road Heritage Trail runs for nearly 7 miles between the west end of Indiana State University campus downtown and Chamberlain Road behind Mewhinney Cemetery just...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
The Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail runs 12 miles, much of the way along an old railroad right-of-way between County Highway 2 east of Charleston and the ball fields at 10th Street in Mattoon; an...
For just over a mile, the Sangamon River Trail in western Monticello follows the former route of the Illinois Central Railroad, which carried passengers from Chicago to New Orleans. The trail includes...
The Hulman Street Trail follows its namesake roadway through residential and commercial areas of Terre Haute, passing Farrington Grove Elementary School along the way. At its western end, the trail...
The unique Indiana Veterans Memorial Mile circles Indiana State University's football stadium in the shape of the state. Along the way, fitness stations add to your walking or biking routine. At...
The Rosedale South Trail offers a paved, tree-lined route along the former Pennsy Railroad in the western Indiana community of Rosedale. It begins on the south side of town and travels just over a...
Although less than 1 mile long, there are plenty of reasons to hit the Fairbanks Park Trail in western Indiana's Terre Haute. The tree-lined pathway winds along the banks of the Wabash River through...
The Hulman Street Trail follows its namesake roadway through residential and commercial areas of Terre Haute, passing Farrington Grove Elementary School along the way. At its western end, the trail...
The Terre Haute segment of the National Road Heritage Trail runs for nearly 7 miles between the west end of Indiana State University campus downtown and Chamberlain Road behind Mewhinney Cemetery just...
The Brown Boulevard Trail offers students from Terre Haute North Vigo High School a safe route to the Indiana State University Stadium to catch a game. The 2-mile trail also connects to the National...
North of the Sangamon River crossing, the Conservation District Trail closely follows Stevens Creek through a flat and dense wetlands forest on the west end of Decatur. South of the river, the trail...
The backbone of the Greenbelt Bikeway runs north–south along Copper Slough, passing through two large city parks divided by W. Bradley Avenue. In Dodds Park to the north, there is a spur west through...
The Lincoln Park Trail runs along the wooded north banks of the Sangamon River. It's mostly flat with a few low hills. Visible from the trail are Decatur's Lincoln Park, some classic old neighborhoods...
O'Malley's Alley is a paved, half-mile trail through a residential area south of Kaufman Lake on the western end of Champaign. On Kenwood Road (at the eastern end of the trail), you can head south on...
For just over a mile, the Sangamon River Trail in western Monticello follows the former route of the Illinois Central Railroad, which carried passengers from Chicago to New Orleans. The trail includes...
The unique Indiana Veterans Memorial Mile circles Indiana State University's football stadium in the shape of the state. Along the way, fitness stations add to your walking or biking routine. At...
Monticello is a small, central Illinois town steeped in a railroad history it still celebrates. Its Chamber of Commerce has offices and special activities in the historic downtown Train Depot. And it...
The Mahomet Village Bike Trail offers a paved route paralleling East Oak Street/Route 150 on Mahomet's east side. The pathway begins at South East Street, just a block from Sangamon Elementary School,...
Except for short-distance walkers, the principal attraction of the Kiwanis Park/West Side Trail is its connection to the other parts of Decatur's trail system. From its western terminus, one can...
Although less than 1 mile long, the Dobbs Trail offers an important connection between two of Terre Haute's most popular parks, Deming and Dobbs. It follows Poplar Drive, a tree-lined residential...
The General Dacey Trail, which first opened in 2006, is a beautiful and richly varied trail located between the city of Shelbyville to the west and large Lake Shelbyville to the east. Its surface is...
The Stevens Creek Bikeway follows a scenic stream for 4 miles through neighborhoods and woodlands, connecting two parks (one at each end of the trail) on the western side of Decatur in central...
The Fairview Park Trail, in western Decatur, traverses the large and beautiful Fairview Park and connects (via roadway) to the park's various attractions: an aquatic center, lake, gardens, pavilions,...
The Rosedale South Trail offers a paved, tree-lined route along the former Pennsy Railroad in the western Indiana community of Rosedale. It begins on the south side of town and travels just over a...
The Lincoln Prairie Trail runs between County Road 12 at State Route 29 west of Pana and Paw Paw Street in Taylorville. The trail parallels SR 29 for nearly the entire route. Built upon an abandoned...
The Collett Park Pathway begins on the northern edge of the Indiana State University campus, where it connects to the National Road Heritage Trail, a proposed border-to-border route stretching between...
My husband and I rode 12 miles on this trail yesterday after not riding it for a year. We started in Pana at the parking lot. We ran out of daylight, otherwise we would have put on more miles. The cracks in the asphalt were patched. The weeds needed cutting from Pana to Millersville. Someone cut the weeds in Millersville. Someone cleared the area around most of the benches, and the benches themselves were in good shape. One of the bridges needs work, but is easily crossed. This trail is so much better than half a dozen other trails in Illinois, and yet we saw no one one it at a time of day (after work and school for many) when other trails begin to get crowded. We kicked the walnuts off the trail, and moved some dead branched. It is good to go.
I first rode this trail several years ago and was not impressed: the surface was full of washouts and 4 wheeler ruts. However it now seems to be better maintained. The easternmost section is the best, a narrow corridor with lots of wildflowers and birds. As you get closer to Mattoon the trail opens up and there is no protection from the sun and wind. For a nice bit of shade take the spur into the Douglas Hart Nature Center.
This is a great trail.
We took the advice from other reviewers and started near the Lake in Taylorville as we passed the bridge that was closed.
This is a awesome trail. Fairly flat and easy to ride. We passed a few people also enjoying the path. It's well maintained. Lovely scenery, peaceful and quiet. (at least the day we was on it)
Highly recommended.
This is a unique bike trail whigh is good and bad. First I rode from Taylorville Lake to the parking lot near Pana and back...24 plus miles. During the whole time I only saw 4 bikers and 1 walker. This is the good part because I am used to crowded bike paths. and since I like to ride sort of fast (17 mph max) I didn't have to be concerned for others. The lack of others is a good thing since some parts of the trail were not wide enough to pass others due to weeds and tree limbs on the sides and weeds growing up in the middle of the trail. Some weeds were mid wheel height. Another reason it is good that I did not need to be concerned with others is that I needed to be concerned about ridges and holes on the trail surface. Thank you to those who took time and painted the worst of these areas so I could avoid them. I want to say thank you and bless you to the people who take care of the trail. One section was mowed on both sides. I am sure these are acts of kindness by volunteers. Also the bridge between Taylorville and Taylorville Lake has been closed so park at the lake to head south to Pana.One last thank you to those who took time to plan and build this trail. It is just too bad that no one is responsible for maintaining it.
We used this trail for our Bataan Death March and it was perfect. There were plenty of access points for water/medic stations. One of the best trails I have been on.
my only real complaint is that I started at the trailhead in Taylorville and rode a half mile only to discover that a section of the trailer been closed. I loaded my bike back up and drove out to Taylorville Lake and parked there and rode the trail 6 miles and then came back. it has a few service issues due to the age of the blacktop but I've ridden much worse.
The 5 trails shown on the west side of Decatur all intersect, so you can enjoy over 20 miles of continuous paved bike trail all through natural areas and parks.
My girlfriend and I drove thirty minutes down from Springfield. We started in Taylorville and rode to Paw Paw. They trail was empty. It was nice cause we could really cruise without having to worry about running into families out for a walk. Make sure to pack a snack if you're going both ways.
This is one of my favorite trails. Good parking is available. The trail is not very curvy. It's somewhat hilly, but do-able. The trail near the end in Charleston is very peaceful. Downtown Charleston is only a couple blocks away too, plenty of food & drink.
Not a good bike ride on this "bike trail". Steep hills and great curves, cool bridges but sooner or later there will be some bad accidents. Hikers walk 4 abreast and block your path and don't pay attention. With the steep hills it's hard to not ride with some speed yet you're generally forced to ride your brakes nearly everywhere or face the possibility of hitting a sleepwalker. They should just relabel it a "hiking trail". Maybe someday the county will have something for bikers but until then it's country roads dodging texting drivers, loose dogs, and rednecks who think it's funny to throw stuff out the window at you and aim their trucks at you. Ride on!
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